Training change, transfer talks, Viana plans - what Man City will do next amid crisis run

Manchester City's fall shows no sign of stopping after defeat at Villa Park saw them tumble to seventh in the Premier League.

It's now nine defeats from their last 12 games in all competitions for a team that topped the league table in early November and their horrendous run shows no sign of ending with their injury situation still grave. The Blues welcome Everton to the Etihad on Boxing Day before travelling to Leicester three days later as they look to turn their form around.

Pep Guardiola took as many positives as he could from their 2-1 defeat in the Midlands on Saturday but accepts that there can be no defence of their current results. As out-of-offices go on around the country, it is still a busy time at the City Football Academy.

Unlike in recent years, there will be no Christmas Day off for the players and staff. That isn't a reflection of the different form the team are in or a punishment for it, simply the reality of them playing at lunchtime on Boxing Day.

The early kick-off is notoriously a difficult one for all players to get up for and City need to make sure they are as prepared as they can be to try to break down an Everton defence that has kept Arsenal and Chelsea quiet in their last two matches. Guardiola has called for more time on the training ground to try and rectify the errors in his team, and he has at least had an extended stretch with five days between Villa and Everton.

Whether it makes a difference will only become apparent on Boxing Day though. As Guardiola said of the two days off he had given the players in the week before the Villa match: "If we win yes [it's good], if we don’t win then it’s 'why don’t you train?'”

As well as preparing his team for the Christmas fixtures, Guardiola will